LION movie review: A heartwarming saga that will fill your heart with hope and joy

Despite all the elements that could make it a clichéd and predictable story, Lion rises beyond the banal with an emotionally charged narrative and stellar performances.

Updated: February 24, 2017 1:45 PM IST

By Smrity Sharma

LION movie review: A heartwarming saga that will fill your heart with hope and joy

Dev Patel and Sunny Pawar starrer Oscars 2017 nominated film LION is a simple lost and found saga, made phenomenal with a heart-wrenching story and stellar performances. The film successfully managed to establish a strong emotional connect with the audience from the very start.

LION follows the real life story of Saroo Brierley, who gets separated from his loved ones at the age of 5 only to unite with them 25 years later, should have come with a trigger warning! For it will be very difficult for you to not choke up more than a couple of times during the course of the film. Here is our take on the film.

What’s it about!
A 5-year-old Saroo (Sunny Pawar) loves to accompany his brother Guddu to work every day. On once such occasion, he gets separated from him at a railway platform and falls asleep in a stationary train. When he wakes up, he is on his way to Calcutta (Kolkata), some 1600 kilometers away from his home in Khandwa. After a couple of months of roaming on the streets, uncared for, with nothing to eat or a proper place to sleep in, Saroo ends up at an orphanage. His next stop is Tasmania, Australia after a loving and caring set of parents show interest in adopting him. From extreme poverty to a privileged life, Saroo has come a long way. As a grown up (Dev Patel) he aspires to graduate in Hotel Management and has all the support from his adoptive father (David Wenham) and mother (Nicole Kidman). But at every step he has to fight the demons from the past that keep making him feel guilty that while he is leading a beautiful and comfortable life in Australia amidst people who love him; back home, his elder brother (Abhishek Bharate) and mother (Priyanka Bose) might be dying each day! Thanks to his college friends who tell him about how Google Earth works and the continuous motivation from his girlfriend (Rooney Mara), Saroo tracks down his village and house to reunite with his mother after 25 long years.

What’s Hot
The film very tactfully, without making you uncomfortable or cringe, hints at the stark realities of the life of children who go missing. Apart from going without food, shelter or proper hygiene for days on end, there are uglier issues like human trafficking and sex trade that these kids are threatened by each day that they spend on the street. In few moments, it also underlines the lack of compassion and empathy we have for the poor, even if it is a 5-year-old kid pleading for help. In a scene where the little Saroo is stranded in Kolkata, while the adults fail to hear his calls for help, there are other kids like him who offer him a place to sleep in.

The film is emotionally charged and the natural, effortless performance by the cast makes it easier for the audience to connect and feel the various emotions that the characters in the film go through. Sunny Pawar, as little Saroo, is adorable and will make you fall in love with him in an instant. Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Ram and Tanishta Chatterjee as Noor have a brief role representing the kind of adults that kids like Saroo have the most danger from! Dev Patel as the adult Saroo is dishy and does complete justice to his portrayal of a young man who is in a constant emotional turmoil. Nicole Kidman as the adoptive mother Sue is phenomenal. In one scene where she is seen trying to bond with the young Saroo, she says, “It must have been difficult for you. One day you’ll tell me all about it and I’ll always listen.” It is their first alone moment and in this simple scene she makes a lifelong commitment to her adopted son. (ALSO READ: Oscars 2017: Dev Patel’s Lion and 6 more Book Adaptations competing at the 89th Academy Awards)

What’s Not
The part between the point where Saroo discovers how Google Earth works to the time it takes for him to finally get down to pinning the right spots on the map and then taking that much important and needed journey appears to drag a little. However, it will make you anxious about the climax and if you were strong enough to hold back until now, don’t be surprised if you find yourself tearing up uncontrollably. This is also where you will learn a fun fact behind why the name of the film on Saroo Brierley is named LION! (ALSO READ: Oscars 2017: 5 things to know about Dev Patel’s Oscar nominated film Lion)

What To Do
Dev Patel, Sunny Pawar and Nicole Kidman starrer LION has got six nominations at the Oscars 2017. These include Actor in Supporting Role (Dev Patel), Actress in Supporting Role (Nicole Kidman), Cinematography (Greig Fraser), Writing (Adapted screenplay – (Luke Davies) and its strong presence on that nominations list is well deserved! We are now waiting to see the film take home some trophies at the 89th Academy Awards 2017 that are slated to be held on February 27, 2017. Need we say more?

Rating: 4 stars!

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